Subaru has shattered its own lap record for the Isle of Man TT course, recording an average speed of more than 200km/h around the iconic open road loop.

Rally champion and stunt driver Mark Higgins reprised his role at the wheel, lowering his own benchmark from 19 minutes and 15 seconds to 17m 35s around the 60.7 kilometre Snaefell Mountain Course.

Subaru worked with rally specialists Prodrive to build a unique WRX STI for the attempt. Turning away from production-spec machinery used in the past, the brand completed a car with around 450kW of turbocharged power as well as lighter bodywork with active aerodynamics, slick Dunlop racing tyres and custom-made Exe-TC suspension.

Higgins shot to internet stardom in 2011 when on-board footage showed the rally driver using considerable skill to regain control of a WRX that spat sideways at speed during a previous record attempt.

While no doubt impressive, Higgins' latest time falls short of the 16m58s record set by motorcycle racer Michael Dunlop en route to victory in the opening superbike event at this year's TT. The Manxman averaged 214.6km/h aboard his BMW S1000RR machine to edge out former winners Ian Hutchinson and John McGuiness.